"George Pontis" wrote in message
t...
In article ,
says...
What is your experience with fertilizers and CO2? I am currently
experiencing algae on the glass of my tank and leaves.
I think is because water my dosing of fertilizers and CO2 is not the
correct, it is over what it should be. I use liquid CO2 and Tropical
Master
GRow.
My tank is a 58G tank that has vals, differen types of swords, dwarf sag,
red ludwiga, and some other plants I can't remember there name. The light
is
on for around 10-12 hrs a day.
What doses do you recommend? What can I do to save my plants and get rid
of
the alage?

I think that you will need to do some water testing to know if your dosage
is in
an appropriate range. A nitrate measurement would be a good place to
start. Iron
and phosphate are also useful. The liquid CO2 (Excel ?) is hard to gauge
because
you cannot infer the amount from the pH and KH as you could if you used
real CO2.
If your plants are growing nicely at the recommended dose then there is no
reason
to adjust it.

In another post recently, there was a link to a website that talks about
the
Redfield and "buddy" ratios. The theory says that algae is least likely to
grow
when the range of nitrate to phosphate is between 15 and 30. For example,
at a
reasonable nitrate level of 15ppm, .5 to 1 ppm phosphate would be ideal.
The site
had some more details and a handy calculator. I don't know to what degree
this has
been proven, but the recommended values are easily achieved and seem
appropriate
for a planted tank. Check it out he

http://www.xs4all.nl/~buddendo/aquar...dfield_eng.htm

Once you get the algae growth under control you might want to try some
plant-safe,
algae eating fish. Some good choices would be the ancistrus plecostomus,
otocinculus, and siamese algae eater (_not_ "chinese"). The ancistrus is
heavier
duty and can keep large panels of glass clean, while the SAE and otos will
delicately clean leaves.

From the blurb sent out reminding the August Barr report is
out.....................

"In providing further in depth aquatic plant research reviews, this month's
topic is still on mineral assimilation but with a special focus on ratios of
NPK and CNP from many submersed plants to show the wide ranges as well as
the averages. While ratios in and of themselves are insignificant till they
become limiting(Liebig's law of minimums), my focus in a more general
broader sense has been the upper ranges(Shleford' law of tolerances) that
cause poor plant growth. Finding the minimum amounts needed for plant growth
is relatively easy.

But the ratios will help support the main focus.......... that high PO4 is
present in natural aquatic plants and required for good plant growth. Past
aquatic horticulture advice from books has been very poor in the back ground
in relations to the plant's needs, content and the presence of algae with
respect to Fe, PO4, NO3 and NH4.

PO4 in particular is still referenced as "bad" in terms of excess. This myth
needs to stop as it is simply untrue. I am providing more evidence here to
show this even further than merely testing alone or consensus.

Redfield ratios are often quoted in the Neathlands as cure for this or that
algae. Tomorrow someone else will come along with some other incorrect
theory and bred another batch of myths relating to ratios. As if it is some
magical nirvana that will magically cure all your woes......... Testing
these things is rather straight forward, but also having some tables of the
ratios can lend a great deal of support combat such myths and tangents that
detracts from growing the plants.

I have always held that plants grow best good within a range, this range is
wide and exploring this range is important to understand the limits we can
maintain good plant growth. Using both field data from natural systems for
aquatic plants as well as test in our tanks allows a fairly good handle of
what the plants need.

This month's report shows the ranges found, look not just at the averages,
but the entire ranges, they are not picky plants, they grow well and
dominate in a wide range of conditions.

Regards,
Tom Barr"

Regards
Bob